Libya:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Libya:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During the 1990s, QADHAFI began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism. QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. Libya has responded in good faith to legal cases brought against it in US courts for terrorist acts that predate its renunciation of violence. Claims for compensation in the Lockerbie bombing, LaBelle disco bombing, and UTA 772 bombing cases are ongoing. The US rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In late 2007, Libya was elected by the General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-09 term.

Location	Definition Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates	Definition 25 00 N, 17 00 E
Map references	Definition Africa
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries	Definition total: 4,348 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline	Definition 1,770 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm
Climate	Definition Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain	Definition mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Natural resources	Definition petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 1.03% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 4,700 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 0.6 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 4.27 cu km/yr (14%/3%/83%) per capita: 730 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues	Definition desertification; limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note	Definition more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

Libya: Geography

Libya:
Geography